HOROSCOPE SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2017

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2017 Mercury and Mars Align to Nurture

It’s said that to love is a stronger feeling than to be loved. Ask any excited new parent (whose heart just doubled in size over someone who won’t be able to return the sentiment for years, if ever) how true the statement really is. Mercury and Mars now align powerfully in nurturing Virgo. Love and care will grow things.

ARIES (March 21-April 19).

Theories need to be tested and proven before they can be properly understood and taught. Action -that’s what’s needed. Stop thinking about it and try it out.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20).

You’re an amazing team player when you’re working with people who want to create something extremely interesting, specific, exciting and beautiful. You’re not a good fit for people who just want to pass the time.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21).

We all have stories that we tell ourselves about ourselves. You’ll consider whether one of yours needs an upgrade. You’ve earned your current more positive and mature perspective, so put it to work for you.

CANCER (June 22-July 22).

You’ll have to involve others if you want to achieve your goal today, and you wouldn’t have it any other way. You’ll be especially compatible with earth signs: Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). “Ask little and give lots” is your motto. When you’re the more generous one, you can always be proud of your contribution. Make an exception today. All will benefit from a more equitable arrangement.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). While you’re usually up for the risk, there are certain aspects of your life that you shouldn’t leave to chance today. Declare what’s precious to you, and then treat it as such by protecting it.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). The theme will center on what true security is, where it comes from and what you’ll do to have it. If there’s an area of your life that could use a more grown-up approach, today brings a chance for serious “adulting.”

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21).

People wait in long lines at amusement parks for the most thrilling and dangerous rides and the chance to feel very afraid and yet safe at the same time. You’ll do something similar in today’s scenario.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21).

Each person’s chemistry is unique and therefore it creates unique reactions when mixed with yours. Today you’ll be surprised at just how different you can be around certain people.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19).

When you’re absolutely certain about what your standards and preferences are, you won’t even have to make a big deal out of asserting them. People can just tell what you’re about today. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18).

Those who doubt the validity of your information will thereby cause you to get more serious in your wording, more particular about your facts and more adamant in your stance.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20).

Refrain from making a decision that will affect others. Put it off until you can get more input. You can’t assume that what’s good for you is good for another person, even if that person is very much like, or even related to, you.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Sept. 16).

You have fans by the dozens, but you have to believe in yourself even more than they do to get your goal by the year’s end. Have faith and keep moving! Your emotional bank account fills up over the course of this solar return as someone dear to you keeps making friendly, loving and generous deposits. Capricorn and Aries adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 19, 30, 41, 20 and 15.

ASTROLOGICAL QUESTION:

“I want to know what qualities I posses as a Capricorn. I am often a loner, and I’d like to know if there’s a possibility of love and romance between me and a Gemini. I can’t help but feel there are things that hinder me from being my true self.”

Your primary strength in love is your ability to understand the bottom line. Sensing what drives people is a talent, and knowing whether or not you can deliver what they need and want is something you do so naturally that you probably don’t realize that other people have trouble with it. You are, at your core, a political creature. You can recognize the part of love that is a game and, if you so choose, play it without getting emotionally involved. You’re exactly right in thinking something hinders you from being your true self. When you know what a potential love wants and can deliver it, sometimes you forget about what you want. Learn to become vulnerable. It’s OK not to always have the power in love. Your lesson is how to surrender and let someone else be strong for you. Gemini can teach you to have fun and loosen up. CELEBRITY PROFILES: Four Virgo luminaries in her natal chart suggest that Amy Poehler is the quintessential Virgo -- organized, hardworking, detail-oriented and always striving for improvement, just like many of the characters she plays. Poehler’s moon in Leo, the sign of entertainment, is the mark of a person whose first instinct is to delight, fascinate and sometimes offend -- as good comedy should!

To write to Holiday Mathis, visit www.creators.com/author/holidaymathis and click “Contact.”

Venus, Uranus and Happiness

Irish philosopher Francis Hutcheson suggested, “That action is best which procures the greatest happiness.” In what time frame, though? Short term? Long term? Sometimes what’s good for one category is bad for the other. Luckily, under today’s fortunate trine of Venus and Uranus, what’s happy now will make for a happy future. ARIES (March 21-April 19). The faster you react the less you think. Marketers will try to use this to their advantage, imposing a ticking clock on the interaction. Walk away from those “limited time” offers today.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You started out like a groupie, and now you’re more like a critic. Getting a whole lot of what you love will do that to you. Back off for a while. Find someone else to admire. This is the remedy.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Be careful about what you praise, because what you praise may grow. Also, what you praise really signifies your values and taste. Anyway, you’re beyond giving props to superficial things.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). Your visceral response to music, a visual artwork or another work of art that lands marvelous on your senses will speak to the importance of art in your everyday life. How can you get more of this?

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Asking for feedback will be useless today. You’re a powerful creative presence, and no one wants to rain on your parade. However, if you ask for advice, you’ll get valuable information you can use to improve things going forward.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You have to invest in yourself to move forward. It’s knowing when to stop that’s the hard part these days. Every time you reinvest, you increase your risk. So how risky do you want to be?

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Should you work to enjoy the now you have or the future you don’t? This is not to say that you won’t have the future, but now is as certain as certain gets;

then, not so much. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Hang on through the tense parts of the day in the knowledge that they will pass soon enough. These little conflicts, inconveniences and expectation adjustments are really unavoidable.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). So, you don’t know what to say. Maybe that’s because there’s nothing worth saying in some situations. When words can’t help, silence is more eloquent than speech.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You’ll be in an experimental and curious mood. Maybe it feels a little purposeless, but sometimes the purpose can be just to play around. Anyway, you can do, try, build and improve without

having a goal. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Maybe it’s not important that you focus in on one thing. You’re a little all over the place when you tend to the different things you love, but in the very near future, it will come together for you in some way.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Powerful people know the secret -- that roles are assigned, parts are parceled, titles and jobs are handed out... but nobody gives power. Power you have to take.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Sept. 17). Success secret: Get scientific on your life. Decide which metrics are meaningful to you, and record the data over the next 12 months. With logic, you’ll fix what’s broken and invent wonderful new ways to live. Financial self-control will allow for a big purchase in 2018. Professions of love come in May. Libra and Scorpio adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 10, 4, 44, 18 and 31.

FORECAST FOR THE WEEK AHEAD: Playwright Henrik Ibsen said, “The strongest man in the world is he who stands most alone.” Ibsen may not have been taking into account the deeply introverted individuals for whom solo standing doesn’t take nearly the strength that socializing, blending and teamwork take. The nurturing and vigilant Virgo sun in its last days suggests you analyze the personality types of those you’re working with and for before you make blanket decisions about what will be effective. Then Friday brings the autumnal equinox, and the focus shifts.

This Libra sun will take over like the host of an HGTV show. It’s time to make life beautiful. We become aware of the design of things, which is much deeper than the veneer of them. The purpose, use and statement of an object are expressed from its inside to the finest details of the exterior. There’s a thrill from interacting with special things in these early stages of the Libra sun. This isn’t so much about materialism or superficial fascination. Objects actually change the way you live and what you do. Thoughtful choices in this regard will make a difference in the way you spend your hours. CELEBRITY PROFILES: Virgo racer Jimmie Johnson began his motor sports career racing 50-cubic-centimeter bikes at age 4 and went on to become a seven-time champion in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Virgos are known for their disciplined, hardworking, methodical ways. Johnson also has a strong current of passionate, risktaking energy in his chart, with four natal luminaries in fire signs.